Selected text
In 1934 my father was transferred to Chuguev not far from Kharkov.
There was an educational center for NKVD officers in Chuguev. My father
became a specialist in protection from poisonous chemical substances. We
had a room in a communal aprartment in Chuguev, where my father became the
Chief of the Chemical Department. I have dim memories of a long corridor
and a kerosene lamp near each room. I also remember that we children
watched military training sessions: there were clouds of some type of gas,
and people in gas masks. It seemed so interesting to us.
In 1935 my mother went to Kharkov. Medical services were much better
in Kharkov than in Chuguev, and my mother went there hoping to get better
medical treatment. My younger brother Victor was born there. My father and
I visited my mother at the maternity hospital and talked with her on the
telephone - she had a telephone in her room. This was one of my brightest
memories. I held the phone receiver for the first time in my life. I also
remember that we went home from the maternity hospital in an open carriage.
In Kharkov, Mama and I stayed with my mother's older sister. Papa went
to Chuguev. Although my parents came from traditional Jewish families,
they didn't observe any Jewish traditions. Neither my brother nor I were
circumcised. I believe my father became a party member under the influence
of my mother. We only spoke Russian at home and even when my parents used
some Yiddish words, it was meant as a joke, and with some sarcasm. I
believe that it was because of my parents' attitude toward religion that my
paternal grandmother literally hated my mother. Besides having come from a
poor family in the village, my mother turned my father into an atheist and
a communist. My father was ashamed of his Jewish origins. He always
introduced himself as Mark Pavlovich or Mihail Pavlovich, but never as
Meyer Pinhusovich, his Jewish name.
In 1936 my father was transferred to Novosibirsk. It was the beginning
of the repressive period, and the Soviets created a number of prison camps
in Siberia and the Far East. They also founded Camp Headquarters (GULAG) in
Novosibirsk, as well as other headquarters. My father was appointed Chief
of the Chemical Department at the Logistics Department, supporting police,
frontier troops and camps. In Novosibirsk we received a two-room apartment
and started living as a family. My father came home from work at 2 or 3 in
the morning. At that time it was customary to work nights, following the
example of Stalin.
There was an educational center for NKVD officers in Chuguev. My father
became a specialist in protection from poisonous chemical substances. We
had a room in a communal aprartment in Chuguev, where my father became the
Chief of the Chemical Department. I have dim memories of a long corridor
and a kerosene lamp near each room. I also remember that we children
watched military training sessions: there were clouds of some type of gas,
and people in gas masks. It seemed so interesting to us.
In 1935 my mother went to Kharkov. Medical services were much better
in Kharkov than in Chuguev, and my mother went there hoping to get better
medical treatment. My younger brother Victor was born there. My father and
I visited my mother at the maternity hospital and talked with her on the
telephone - she had a telephone in her room. This was one of my brightest
memories. I held the phone receiver for the first time in my life. I also
remember that we went home from the maternity hospital in an open carriage.
In Kharkov, Mama and I stayed with my mother's older sister. Papa went
to Chuguev. Although my parents came from traditional Jewish families,
they didn't observe any Jewish traditions. Neither my brother nor I were
circumcised. I believe my father became a party member under the influence
of my mother. We only spoke Russian at home and even when my parents used
some Yiddish words, it was meant as a joke, and with some sarcasm. I
believe that it was because of my parents' attitude toward religion that my
paternal grandmother literally hated my mother. Besides having come from a
poor family in the village, my mother turned my father into an atheist and
a communist. My father was ashamed of his Jewish origins. He always
introduced himself as Mark Pavlovich or Mihail Pavlovich, but never as
Meyer Pinhusovich, his Jewish name.
In 1936 my father was transferred to Novosibirsk. It was the beginning
of the repressive period, and the Soviets created a number of prison camps
in Siberia and the Far East. They also founded Camp Headquarters (GULAG) in
Novosibirsk, as well as other headquarters. My father was appointed Chief
of the Chemical Department at the Logistics Department, supporting police,
frontier troops and camps. In Novosibirsk we received a two-room apartment
and started living as a family. My father came home from work at 2 or 3 in
the morning. At that time it was customary to work nights, following the
example of Stalin.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
Leonid Karlinsky